Over the last two weeks, we have introduced what business performance review is, its importance, components, as well as what you review at a business performance meeting. Last week, we specifically commenced discussions on how to conduct effective business perform reviews. We will conclude that today by taking up two more issues as follows:
• Engagement: It is important that the entrepreneur leads the performance review as an intellectually stimulating and business exciting activity through rigour, detail and depth. The kind of questions you will be asking and should be getting answers at a performance review will include:
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o What were our targets in various units, functions and company-wide? What were the actual achievements?
o What were the variances and what caused them?
o Are our assets being efficiently utilised in all spheres of our activities?
o Could we have done better? Why? Why didn’t we? How can we do better?
o What (factors) and who (individuals and groups) were essentially responsible for meeting or surpassing any targets? What did they do right?
o What can the organisation do to leverage on the successes further? Take a note here to ensure that the organisation learns and internalises the factors that caused successes. This can be done by putting measures that will reinforce the behaviours that were antecedent to the success, etc.,
o What were the challenges, setbacks, ‘near misses’ and failures? What factor(s) was/were responsible for them? What wasn’t done right?
o Was there any particular person or group that was fundamentally responsible for them? This should however not be a blame apportionment exercise, but an opportunity to learn and avoid recurrence,
o What have the individuals, groups and the organization at large learnt or could learn from the failure?
o What has been done and/or can be done, in the future, to eliminate the risk that caused the failure?
o What was done to reverse the negative situations? Who was responsible? What can be done to reward them and reinforce such behaviour in the organisation?
o Do you need to adjust (upwards or downwards) your targets in light of current realities and developments?
o But performance review is not only about the past. What measures can be put in place to develop our people for better future performances? In addition to what we already have, what other assets do we need to acquire to achieve certain objectives? How do we go about acquiring them, over what period, etc.?
• Making performance reviews effective and pleasant: To have an effective and rewarding business performance review meetings, there should be a person who chairs the meeting and guides the conduct and discussions through different phases. These include:
o Creating a productive atmosphere: The physical setting of the meeting environment should have as much natural lighting as possible, good ambiance, etc. Similarly, a productive atmosphere has to do with the feelings and dispositions of the participants. Without the right atmosphere, people may not be as productive as they could otherwise be.
o Use standardised presentation formats: Prior to a business performance review meeting, it is important that presentation formats for various functions, units and even at individual staff level be standardised. This allows for ‘apple-to-apple’ comparisons over successive periods. You can either adopt/adapt a generic format that meets your requirements or you can develop your own. Obviously, you may, over time, need to alter the format. By all means do that as long as that improves the quality of information and presentation.
o Monitor the use of time: Different functions and units, may, perhaps due to their size and relative roles, need more or less time to present their reports. This should be reasonably enforced without losing out key presentation components. Another way to help achieve this is by ensuring that unnecessary digressions and jargon talk are discouraged. Yet another away is by ensuring that reports are presented to a secretariat which ensures that only relevant facts and issues, perhaps based on the approved template are included. Do not let officials, who like to get away with their suboptimal performance by talking their way out, ‘off the hook’. Ask tough questions and keep discussions focussed.
o Always create more challenges: Even for functions, units and individuals that have done very well, find a way to justifiably raise the bar and getting them to do even better. Sometimes doing better might just be by achieving the same target with less resources. Other times it could be by completely raising the bar based on opportunities and resources available.
o Make it a learning exercise: To remain alert, sharp and competitive, an organisation and the individuals comprising it must continuously learn. Business performance review meetings are a veritable way for organisations and individuals to draw lessons, internalise them and improve their game plan and delivery.
o Break time should be allowed for participants to stretch, take mental breaks and generally refreshen up.
o Document what have agreed: At the end of the presentation by each individual/unit, the chairman will go over what have been agreed in terms of what they are improve upon and exactly by what extent. The key metrics we discussed earlier have to be used as measures of what is expected in areas of improvement.
o Communicate agreements: What has been agreed at the end of each session should be communicated within a maximum of forty-eight hours by the secretariat to each individual or unit.
o Hold people responsible: Once targets have been agreed, required resources are provided, individuals and units should be credited for achieving or surpassing their targets. If there were any agreed rewards for meeting and/or surpassing the targets, the organisation must meet up fully on this contract. No excuses should made. On the other hand, where there are shortfalls and complete misses, they should also be held responsible for the failures. What should be done will depend on what may be the causes of the failures.
Business performance reviews for individuals, units, functions and the overall corporation is an necessary activity that should hold regularly and without fail. It helps you, your people, organisation to remain focused, alert, diligent and result-oriented. Next week, we will take up Setting Your Standards.
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